When a PC (personal computer) drives an apparatus, for example, a facsimile apparatus, a printer, a copying apparatus, a multifunctional peripheral including a facsimile transmitting and receiving function, a printing function, a copying function, and so on; or a peripheral of a computer; a driver for driving the apparatus must be installed in the PC.
For example, when a PC uses a printer, a printer driver for driving the printer must be installed in the PC. That is, when a new PC is connected to a network to which many PCs have been connected and the new PC uses a printer, a new printer driver for driving the printer must be installed in the PC (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In a case where a new printer driver is installed in a new PC at each time when the new PC is connected to a network, many labor hours are required to verify the system environment of the network, and the number of the printer drivers is increased when the new printer is installed in the network.
In order to solve the above problem, a universal driver has been proposed. In the universal driver, a function table which is supported by a driver core section is formed, and when a new driver must be installed, the function table is referred to and all functions of the new driver are supported by updating the function table without installing the new driver.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-287496
However, in the conventional universal driver, since the all functions of the new driver are supported by the driver core section, every time when the new driver must be installed, the function table which is supported by the driver core section must be updated. Consequently, a user must expend labor hours for verifying the driver substantially the same as the labor hours expended when the driver version is upgraded.